Inspiring Malian youth: a commitment to Justice
With Margot Tedesco
“I want to become a judge at the International Criminal Court!” She looks at me, a shy smile on her lips. Then she hides behind the other young people.
“It's possible!” I reply. “And why not Prosecutor? The ICC has had a Malian judge who was the first Vice-President of the Court, Judge Diarra.”
Bamako, Wednesday, 26 June 2024. It's around 13:00.
After the live broadcast of the verdict in the ICC Al Hassan case and the question-and-answer session, a group of young people approaches me.
I look at the group of about six students. Among them was the president of the University Club for Human Rights at Bamako's Faculty of Private Law, and another student who had asked me a question during the session.
I had invited Club members to attend the live broadcast of the verdict. I regularly organize meetings with new Club members.
“Will you be there on Monday?” They nod.
The Club has invited me to lead a four-hour session at the University, to around 50 students, to talk about the ICC's mandate, work and procedures, as well as cases concerning Mali.
The following day, I will meet with the candidates of the 2024 edition of the Moot Court Competition organized by the Tribune Jeunes pour le Droit au Mali (TRIJEUD) to prepare them for the questions focusing more specifically on international crimes. Since 2023, the Outreach Unit has supported this TRIJEUD initiative in collaboration with Lawyers Without Borders Canada and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The students will face the questions on international crimes at the semi-final and final levels of the competition.
I particularly enjoy talking to the students: they have lots of questions and lots of hope. Their dedication to promoting justice and human rights motivates me. At each meeting, I address the future champions of Malian human rights, the future prosecutors, lawyers and magistrates who will have the responsibility of defending human rights in their country.
Every meeting, every session with these students is an opportunity to strengthen our common mission.
By training them, by inspiring and encouraging them, we are helping to forge a new generation of human rights defenders who will, in turn, be able to advance justice in their own communities.
After Bamako, and still to communicate on the verdict in the Al Hassan case, I'll be driving almost 1,000 km to exchange with representatives of civil society, journalists and the authorities in Ségou and Sikasso, home to large communities that fled Timbuktu in 2012, at the time of what Malians call “the occupation of Timbuktu” by the Ansar dine and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) groups.
This time I won't be able to get to Timbuktu. I have to limit myself to the more accessible locations for the time being. However, thanks to our joint efforts with various partners, Timbuktu residents and people throughout the country will be able to follow the judicial developments that concern them: a radio network will broadcast the summary of the verdict, and with another partner, the Festival Vivre Ensemble Tombouctou, we are planning to screen the audiovisual material produced throughout the Timbuktu region.
As I travel the roads of Mali, interacting with young people and local communities, I am constantly reminded of the importance of our outreach mission. Every interaction, every question brings the concept of international justice to life, making it more accessible and understandable for everyone.
